HORROR: Pedestrian Lolaa Alrashied is pinned under a bus near the United Nations after jaywalking, a law violation rarely ticketed by police.

It happened again — this time, leaving horrific images of the consequences.

But despite the grim photos of a jaywalker pinned beneath a double-decker tour bus, New Yorkers’ death-defying habit of darting into traffic against the light is unlikely to ever be broken.

While technically against the law, law-enforcement officials determined long ago that writing tickets does little to stop such a widespread practice. Some veteran cops say they have never issued a single jaywalking ticket.

“Jaywalking is an urban cultural issue. There are certain cities where jaywalking has been accepted for 50 years or more, so to stop it is like trying to stop the tide from coming in,” said one ex-cop familiar with transportation issues. “You can’t address the whole culture through policing.”

In fact, one source conceded, “There’s no one person assigned to give jaywalking tickets in a precinct.” A recently retired cop with 25 years on the job said he “wouldn’t know how to write a jaywalking ticket.”

It’s a hard-to-shake habit.

“I love jaywalking. It is the best thing to do. It is the only thing left in New York to do,” said Alfred Nazari, a 58-year-old engineer from Long Island City, Queens, as he walked across Sixth Avenue against the light. “If you like jaywalking, do it. If you don’t, don’t walk.”

Some New Yorkers argue that jaywalking is an inalienable right.

“Common sense says there is no reason to wait for a red light if there are no cars coming. It’s actually funny to watch the tourists stop and wait for the light to change,” said a pedestrian who gave his name only as Nico as he crossed 42nd Street.

“It shows why New Yorkers have more common sense than anyone else.”

That devil-may-care attitude can be life-threatening, as in the terrifying bus incident involving Lolaa Alrashied outside the United Nations on Monday. Miraculously, she suffered only fractured legs.

Others aren’t so lucky. In the last year, 178 pedestrians and cyclists were killed on city streets, according to the mayor’s management report. That figure has stayed fairly consistent for the past five years, although officials say the number used to be much higher.

While the Big Apple is not the only pedestrian-heavy city, openly flouting the law is more blatant here.

Any jaywalking New Yorker who has been to European cities like Copenhagen, Paris or London has likely elicited puzzled stares from law-abiding locals after striding across the street against the light, even with no traffic approaching.

One law-enforcement official said that during a trip to Seattle, he earned the opprobrium of that city’s top cop after trying to cross a traffic-free street against the light.

“I began to step off the curb, and the chief nudged my arm and grabbed me and said, ‘We don’t do that in Seattle,’ ” he said. “I realized that there were all kinds of cities where you do not jaywalk.

“In New York, you can see people from different countries who wait at the light while others cross. But after about three days, they start to cross, too.”

Efforts to increase the number of tickets written for jaywalking have had little impact, and even former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s much-derided effort to install barriers at certain Midtown street corners were ineffective — many pedestrians just walked around them.

Yet, there may be hope.

“I’ve been educated to respect the law,” said John Lyndon, a 34-year-old journalist who was waiting patiently for a light in Midtown. “Even if no one is looking at me, in my mind, I have to wait, because it is the rule.”